Soup Social warms and brightens WinterFEST

Approximately 500 women, men, children, and dogs stood on a line along Lincoln Street in Newton Highlands on January 27 to sample a wide variety of soup offered by local restaurants and served by Newton City Councilors. In its third year, the WinterFEST Soup Social is a highly successful collaboration of two private non-profit corporations — the Hyde Community Center and Newton Community Pride — with cooperation from the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture. The organizers braved the potential cold and storms of a late January Saturday night to offer free soup, rolls, ice cream, hot chocolate, and entertainment outdoors at the Hyde Playground and field. The Soup Social has been a Newton Highlands event for three decades, previously hosted inside the gym of the Hyde Community Center. 

Remarkably, since his decision to take the festivities outside, former Newton City Councilor and longtime director of the Hyde Community Center John Rice has defied seasonal odds with three years of starlit, snow-free, moderate January Saturday nights. Newton Community Pride Executive Director Blair Lesser Sullivan explained that in the wake of Covid, the Board (of which John Rice is a member) was looking for a safe way to bring people together, and knew that there were other communities with outdoor winter events. Merging the Soup Social with WinterFEST is the result. “People were skeptical about taking the Soup Social out of doors, but it has been a great success,” Mr. Rice said. On Monday, Mr. Rice reported that there were no leftovers — no soup, no rolls, no hot chocolate, nor ice cream.

Among the Soup Social traditions is the participation of City Council members who “let down our hair down and pick up our soup ladles,” Councilor Rick Lipof noted. Participating in a Soup Social tradition, he and many of his City Council colleagues stood at long tables along the Hyde playground fence, serving the wide variety of soup donated by local restaurants. “I always have a wonderful time,“ he said, adding,”It’s a great opportunity to do something for people that they actually want.”

For newly elected City Councilor Rena Getz, who served vegetarian chili from Tango Mango and avgolemono soup from the Grape Leaf, “it was great. The music was wonderful and it was a moment to enjoy each other and have a good time.” 

Lighting up the dark winter night were ever-moving glow-in-the-dark hula hoops and an ongoing participatory light installation. Adding another layer of warmth, the Timba Messengers, a Latin jazz and salsa band, played to an enthusiastic, moving, and dancing crowd. The band was a huge hit at Chris Pitt’s Piano Summit and the Community Pride Festival of the Arts — and the obvious choice for WinterFEST. 

Summing up the ways in which WinterFEST and the Soup Social contribute to the community, Ms. Sullivan underscored that the event was free, accessible, entertaining, great for newcomers, and great for the eleven restaurants that contribute the soup. As part of another Soup Social tradition, Newton Highlands residents Srjdjan Nedeljkovic and his family scooped out Cabot’s ice Cream for a clamoring crowd. “We couldn’t do it without the support of restaurants who donate the soup, and we hope that people will support them,” Ms. Sullivan said.

This year’s restaurants included:

• O’Hara’s Food and Spirits
• 57 Lincoln Kitchen
• Otake
• Grape Leaf
• Dunn Gaherin’s
• Shiva’s Kitchen
• Sichuan Gourmet House
• New England Soup Factory
• Cacao
• Cabot’s
• Tango Mango